Four years later, Coco Chanel introduced her line of clothing, which was masculine in style, sporty and displayed clean, functional lines. Her ability to foresee this ‘trend’ made her clothing an instant success. In 1923, she launched the Chanel Suit, composed of a skirt and a short, masculine-looking jacket. It has never gone out of style and is worn by millions of professional women throughout the world today. So, too, is Chanel’s little black dress, a starkly simple, close-fitting one-piece garment. This dress defined and illustrated haute couture.

Coco’s visionary designs changed not only the way women dressed, and the way they looked, but also the way they behaved. The tight, binding chains of prim prudishness dissolved, to be replaced by flamboyant minimalism. This change in female behavior, in turn, changed the attitudes of men.

Chanel No. 5, Chanel’s eponymous perfume, was devised by Ernie Beaux and built upon the scent of aldhehydes. Its ingredients were all artificial, made in a laboratory. A total break from the natural model of perfumes which prevailed up until this point. The success of Chanel No. 5 is difficult to quantify. The best way to put it into perspective is this: one bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume is sold every thirty seconds.

In numerology, which is an occult system based on numbers, numbers are not merely quantitative, but also depict symbolic qualities. The number 5 symbolizes the whole, for example, as in marriage, where the hieros gamos (the number of marriage, 5) is the combination of the feminine number 2, and the masculine number 3.

The lion is another traditional symbol, which carries many varied meanings. Macrobius said that lions were representative of the earth, “Mother of the Gods.” Pairs of lions are the “master of double strength,” the guardians of doors, gates and treasure. Lions even guard the Tree of Life.

According to one tradition lions were supposed to sleep with their eyes open, demonstrating vigilance, spiritual watchfulness and endurance.

Lions watch over graves, too.

Five lions of stone are carved into a tombstone in Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery. Guardians of the grave. The tombstone itself is white stone. I’m not sure what kind. It is flat and smooth, with a lintel around the top – very Classical, very Greek. The initial impression is one of Napoleonic splendor. The five golden